Musae

Musae was born out of a session at SoJam. Lo Barreiro and Kari Francis hosted a panel discussion on women in a cappella and afterwards elected to start a new group.

They gathered top talents. Hannah Juliano from Pitch Slapped. Johanna Vinson from Divisi. Angela Ugolini from The AcaBelles. Courtney Godwin from UGA Noteworthy.

They had a mission. A little Sonos, a little Boxettes, and, quite decisively, all-female.

It didn’t quite work.

Barreiro and Francis have reprised their panel at SoJams since, and on more than one occasion discussed the process of discerning the group’s identity. That identity needed to be organic to not only their vision and to each individual member, but to the gestalt of the six women bound together.

(There Is No Easy Way) From the Earth to the Stars is the realization of that identity and the fruits of a young group’s labors.

In terms of song selection, the album plays like a tour of all-female a cappella over the last decade, spun in reverse--from an innovative take on “Without U,” to the anthems of all-female power in “I Am Woman,” “Ode to Donna,” to the softer side of “Top of the World,” and perhaps the most traditional female a cappella song of them all, “A Natural Woman.” While I would question this slate of songs from many groups, it feels almost inevitable, and almost perfect for a group that has grown out of the collegiate tradition, and is realizing a world of potential on a national stage right now.

The aforementioned “Top of the World” resonated particularly strongly for me. While the album on the whole is a production and mastering gem (kudos to The Vocal Company and Vocal Mastering), and I don’t mean to diminish the impact of those effects on this particular piece, “Top of the World” shines for the sheer simplicity of it—beautiful, straight forward, and tapping directly into the heart of the song.

Another brilliant song choice: Gotye’s “Feel Better.” It’s a contemporary song with an old school vibe, and as such slides quite cleanly into Musae’s wheelhouse and provides a welcome moment of levity amidst the heavier tail end of the of the album.

With all of that said, there is no track that better encapsulates where Musae stands today and (I hope) where it’s headed than the very first one, “Without U.” Dozens of a cappella groups have sung this song over the last year, but none have owned it in quite the same way as Musae. The group tapped into the bare nerve at the heart of the song—a story of loss and feeling lost. Better yet, after the gorgeously pained harmonies that open the song, they found their own way into the groove of the piece for a track that’s more emotionally complex than David Guetta’s original, and yet equally toe-tapping and fun for the final stretch. Simply sublime stuff, and I know of very few a cappella tracks by anyone that I’d rather use in trying to convert non-a cappella fans to giving the genre a try.

(There Is No Easy Way) From the Earth to the Stars is the tour de force that all-female a cappella has been waiting for. Don’t miss out. - The A Cappella Blog

Hypeli recently had the pleasure of meeting an incredibly talented all-female group. Our takeway? Musae, a cappella simply can’t do it “Without You”.

The Vocal Avengers are born.

Musae is… Musae. We’re six very different chicks from very different backgrounds and that’s what we celebrate, bringing our own funky spin to pop music. It all began when two of us, Lo and Kari, taught a workshop together about women in a cappella at an a cappella festival called SoJam in 2010. Afterward the duo  realized there was a serious lack of girl power in the professional a cappella scene here in the US and decided to personally combat that. With some recommendations from good friends, already-established relationships, and some minor stalking, Lo and Kari created what they like to call the Vocal Avengers, essentially handpicking women to fight crime, or something like that.  Each member was chosen for their very specific talents like Johanna’s now infamous “ladynads” and serious bass skills and Courtney’s incredible ability to make everything sound like a Disney princess is singing while dancing like Beyonce. Lo and Kari got the ladies to sign on with the expectation that the then unnamed group would be this cool, hip, indie group. Yet that’s not at all what happened. It took some time to find our sound, but it was found.

What’s in a name?

We’re often asked the story of our name. The story? No story. Just Google Translate. We were all kind of inspired by the Muses of Greek mythology and the strength, power, and femininity they represent. So, Lo took to Google and sent the girls every possible translation of “Muses” that she could actually pronounce and spell and the group picked one. Could you imagine if we were called Muzala? Do you pronounce the Z or do you say it like an S? We’re still trying to figure that one out.  All in all, the Latin translation Musae stuck. From there things fell into place. After some initial trial and error, we discovered our desired image: strong, confident women who could exude sensuality, vulnerability, and ferocity; all with class and never sacrificing a certain empathetic connection with the audience.

The “end result” of Musae has truly been greater than the sum of its parts. Despite the success each of us experienced with our collegiate groups and other post-collegiate endeavors, including short and not-so-short stints in other groups on season 3 of NBC’s “The Sing-Off”, any sense of entitlement goes out the door when we are together. We are all thrilled to perform as a group. As cliché as it may sound; we have come together not only as each other’s muses, but as sisters as well.

 Seven is a crowd.

In the end, the music is king and we make sure that Ego never becomes the seventh member of Musae. We never vote on or even fight over who will sing what solo. Despite calling ourselves a “band,” we have no traditional front person or one-dimensional roles; the beauty of being vocalists means that we can shift tasks rather drastically in the course of a single song One of the coolest things we’ve done that you don’t see very often is give our bass, Johanna, a solo. It was important to all of us to have everyone featured and recognize individual talents. Even cooler was to watch Hannah, one of our superstar soloists and altos, take over the bass role so seamlessly.

We initially all took financial hits to travel the first few times to Boston or Atlanta to practice, arrange music, and scheme a future together. The story of our first meeting is our favorite to tell because each of us had different ideas of what the group would look and sound like, only to start singing and realize that we fit none of them. But we had so much faith in our potential that we scrapped the music we had brought with us and devised our own covers on the spot, which is how we discovered our process of group (or “organic”) arranging. On top of that, we each bring individual expertise in certain areas, which is how we were able to track, produce, and design our debut album, (There Is No Easy Way) From the Earth to the Stars. We really work to make the most of our time together, which, with cities, flights, jobs, and other schedules to juggle, is incredibly precious.

Yes, it’s a love fest.

The love among us is infectious, and the group has very much evolved into a kind of musical sisterhood. Although we are so spread out (Los Angeles, Rochester, Tallahassee, Boston, and Atlanta) technology has made it easy to never be too far away from each other. One of the greatest feelings in the world is to wake up to a text message or email from one the ladies and feel like they’re right there with you. We find ourselves constantly assuring people that it really is that much of a love fest. That’s not to say that lack of sleep, stress, and strict deadlines have never gotten the better of us but all of the support and encouragement pervades what we do and keeps us coming back for more.

Musae is Lo Barriero, - Hypeli Artist's Blog

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Who is Musae? How did you girls meet and start this band?
Musae is… Musae. We’re six very different chicks from very different backgrounds and that’s what we celebrate, bringing our own funky spin to pop music. Lo and Kari taught a workshop together at an a cappella festival in North Carolina in 2010 about women in a cappella. They decided there weren’t enough all-female groups in the States and the rest is history! With some recommendations from good friends, already established relationships, and some minor stalking, Lo and Kari got the rest of the group to sign on with the expectation that Musae would be this cool, hip, indie group and… that’s not at all what happened. It took some time to find our sound, but it was found.

What is the story behind the band’s name?
The story? No story. Just Google Translate. We were all kind of inspired by the Muses of Greek mythology and the strength, power, and femininity they represent. So, Lo took to Google and sent the girls every possible translation of “Muses”that she could actually pronounce and spell and the group picked one. Could you imagine if we were called Muzala? All in all, it was the Latin translation, Musae, that stuck.

How was it to perform at SoJam (held at Duke University), Boston Sings (held at MIT), Los Angeles A Cappella Festival (held at UCLA/USC)?
We love traveling to festivals because we get to not just perform in beautiful venues but also teach and interact with rising stars in the collegiate a cappella scene and all over the world. SoJam is near and dear to us because it was at that very festival that the idea for the group was born and we had our very first performance at a year later. Boston Sings and LAAF saw some of us individually leading our own classes, but any time we can all get together at festivals like those, it’s just a whole lot of fun and very little sleep.

What are your musical influences?
Well, we have two California girls, a Texan, a Southern Belle from Atlanta, a child of 80s rock, and a Latina, so it’s safe to say we have a lot of musical influences. We all bring a little bit of home to the group.

So tell us more about your upcoming new album. How has the recording and writing process been?
It’s a cover album with songs from artists like Usher, Gotye, Maroon 5, Ellie Goulding, Melanie Fiona, and even Dixie Chicks. We’ve been recording bits and pieces for around a year now- the distance between all of us makes it difficult to get a lot of recording done at any given time- and we’re looking to release this Fall.

What’s your method for writing a song?
We’ve pretty much been doing all covers, but the arranging process has probably been the coolest and most fun part because we literally sit in a circle, listen to a song over and over, and each contribute a little bit to the song and vision. It’s interesting to see how we all express ourselves musically and what each song means to each of us.

What has been the funniest moment while touring?
We tend to gravitate toward the nearest Starbucks without realizing it. Also, hummus buckets.

Are there any plans for the future we should be aware of?
Heck, if we could tell you what’s going to happen in the future, we would! Right now we’re in the middle of releasing a series of live in-studio videos that we shot at Sled Dog Studios in Rochester. (Think AOL Sessions… yea, took it that far back.) And we’re working on a few upcoming tours in the US and hopefully overseas.

Do you feel you are moving in the right direction?
We sure hope so!

Check out more at: http://www.musaevocal.com - VENTS Magazine

Who is Musae? How did you girls meet and start this band?
Musae is… Musae. We’re six very different chicks from very different backgrounds and that’s what we celebrate, bringing our own funky spin to pop music. Lo and Kari taught a workshop together at an a cappella festival in North Carolina in 2010 about women in a cappella. They decided there weren’t enough all-female groups in the States and the rest is history! With some recommendations from good friends, already established relationships, and some minor stalking, Lo and Kari got the rest of the group to sign on with the expectation that Musae would be this cool, hip, indie group and… that’s not at all what happened. It took some time to find our sound, but it was found.

What is the story behind the band’s name?
The story? No story. Just Google Translate. We were all kind of inspired by the Muses of Greek mythology and the strength, power, and femininity they represent. So, Lo took to Google and sent the girls every possible translation of “Muses”that she could actually pronounce and spell and the group picked one. Could you imagine if we were called Muzala? All in all, it was the Latin translation, Musae, that stuck.

How was it to perform at SoJam (held at Duke University), Boston Sings (held at MIT), Los Angeles A Cappella Festival (held at UCLA/USC)?
We love traveling to festivals because we get to not just perform in beautiful venues but also teach and interact with rising stars in the collegiate a cappella scene and all over the world. SoJam is near and dear to us because it was at that very festival that the idea for the group was born and we had our very first performance at a year later. Boston Sings and LAAF saw some of us individually leading our own classes, but any time we can all get together at festivals like those, it’s just a whole lot of fun and very little sleep.

What are your musical influences?
Well, we have two California girls, a Texan, a Southern Belle from Atlanta, a child of 80s rock, and a Latina, so it’s safe to say we have a lot of musical influences. We all bring a little bit of home to the group.

So tell us more about your upcoming new album. How has the recording and writing process been?
It’s a cover album with songs from artists like Usher, Gotye, Maroon 5, Ellie Goulding, Melanie Fiona, and even Dixie Chicks. We’ve been recording bits and pieces for around a year now- the distance between all of us makes it difficult to get a lot of recording done at any given time- and we’re looking to release this Fall.

What’s your method for writing a song?
We’ve pretty much been doing all covers, but the arranging process has probably been the coolest and most fun part because we literally sit in a circle, listen to a song over and over, and each contribute a little bit to the song and vision. It’s interesting to see how we all express ourselves musically and what each song means to each of us.

What has been the funniest moment while touring?
We tend to gravitate toward the nearest Starbucks without realizing it. Also, hummus buckets.

Are there any plans for the future we should be aware of?
Heck, if we could tell you what’s going to happen in the future, we would! Right now we’re in the middle of releasing a series of live in-studio videos that we shot at Sled Dog Studios in Rochester. (Think AOL Sessions… yea, took it that far back.) And we’re working on a few upcoming tours in the US and hopefully overseas.

Do you feel you are moving in the right direction?
We sure hope so!

Check out more at: http://www.musaevocal.com - VENTS Magazine